St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher spoke on a conference call with Bay Area reporters Wednesday morning. Here’s what he said about the 49ers.
Q: Did you feel the NFC was an ascendant division when you took the Rams job – a lot of young teams?
FISHER: Yeah, I feel like the division has improved. Obviously, after the first half of the season you can say it certainly has, at least if you look at the statistics from a defensive standpoint. With the exception of the Niners, offensively the remaining three of us are quite a ways behind. Defensively, it looks like certainly everybody’s improving.
Q: What do you make of this 49ers offense?
FISHER: I can’t remember having to prepare for an offense that was so well-coached and diversified in the run game, and so talented. And then you add the multiplicity of the passing game and [Alex Smith’s] decision making ability – it’s no surprise to me that they were able to accomplish what they accomplished last year and what’s ahead of them this year.
Q: What do you mean when you say so diversified in the run game?
FISHER: The different types of run concepts, without getting too specific. They know what I’m talking about.
Q: Does the offensive line allow them to be so diversified?
FISHER: And the fullback and the tight ends and the receivers, yes.
Q: How difficult is it to prepare for a line like that?
FISHER: It’s a very, very talented team. They create matchups to favor them. There are very few weaknesses on that football team there, especially on the offensive side. They just don’t make mistakes.
Q: Going back a couple years to Tennessee, what was it like having Randy Moss on your team briefly?
FISHER: I had great respect for what Randy had accomplished throughout his career, was very, very impressed with him in a short time there. He was a tremendous teammate, had a huge impact on our young receiver when he was there – his day off, his work ethic, the way he practiced, how competitive he is. I was very impressed. Having experienced that firsthand, I know that he just carried that over and he’s probably having a huge impact with all their receivers.
Q: The 49ers could very well not have anyone on their injury report this week. How rare is that at this stage of the season that a team can be as healthy as the 49ers?
FISHER: They’re 100 percent healthy at halftime and they’re in position to make the run that they’re expected to make.
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I find these words extremely interesting coming from another coach:
“… and they’re in position to make the run that they’re expected to make”
First I find it interesting that a coach would have set or known expectations for the seasonal outcome of another team. Yes a team in his division but still, it’s a weird thing to hear coming out of a coaches mouth.
Second, it reminds me of a 49ers vs Rams game back in 1999. The Rams demolished us 20-42. After the game Bill Walsh was seen and heard on TV telling coach Vermeil “This is your year, you guys are winning it all.”
I’m paraphrasing Walsh’s words but it was something close to that effect and it’s the only other time I’ve heard a coach(BW wasn’t coaching that day) mention their thoughts on where another team was heading in a season.
Fischer may or may not have set those expectations himself. Its virtually impossible for anyone who follows, much less coaches, the NFL to not know the basic expected trajectory for every team, especially in their own division. It is unusual though for him to say that basically we are expected to make a deep run. -nice but Jim Harbaugh probably wants to ‘kick him in the shins.’